[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2627 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 820
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2627
[Report No. 110-388]
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 14, 2007
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
June 16, 2008
Reported by Mr. Bingaman, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in the State of
New Jersey as the successor to the Edison National Historic Site.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Act Commemorating the LITE,
or Lifetime Innovations of Thomas Edison''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) The Edison National Historic Site, located in
West Orange, New Jersey, is a vital part of America's national
system of parks which preserves Thomas Alva Edison's research
and development laboratories, library, papers, and artifacts,
as well as his home.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) The Site is a national historic treasure and
contains the world's largest collection of materials related to
Thomas Edison, encompassing an estimated 5,000,000 pages of
documents, over 400,000 artifacts, approximately 35,000 sound
recordings, and 10,000 books from Edison's personal
library.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Thomas Edison is one of America's greatest
inventors, whose inexhaustible energy and genius produced 1,093
patents in his lifetime, more than any other American,
including patents for the incandescent light bulb, the motion
picture camera, and the phonograph.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) In 1928, Thomas Edison was awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal for the ``development and application
of inventions that have revolutionized civilization in the last
century.''</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) In 1998, Congress again honored Thomas Edison
by directing the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a
commemorative coin celebrating the 125th anniversary of
Edison's invention of the light bulb, celebrated in
2004.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) The Edison National Historic Site is one of
America's most endangered historic places. The National Park
Service, in its General Management Plan and Development Concept
Plan, identified the need for numerous actions to preserve,
protect, restore, and enhance the Site and determined that
sufficient government funds are not likely to be appropriated
to complete these necessary actions in the foreseeable
future.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) On November 6, 1997, the National Park Service
signed an agreement with the Thomas Alva Edison Preservation
Foundation (now the Edison Preservation Foundation),
establishing a public-private partnership to jointly raise
money to fund identified improvements at the Edison National
Historic Site so as to leave the Site unimpaired for the
enjoyment of future generations.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) to recognize and pay tribute to Thomas Alva
Edison and his innovations; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) to preserve, protect, restore, and enhance the
Edison National Historic Site to ensure public use and
enjoyment of the Site as an educational, scientific, and
cultural center.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Establishment.--There is established the Thomas Edison
National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System
(hereafter the ``Historical Park'').</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Boundaries.--The Historical Park shall be comprised
of--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) all property owned by the United States in the
Edison National Historic Site as well as all property
authorized to be acquired by the Secretary of the Interior for
inclusion in the Edison National Historic Site before the date
of the enactment of this Act, as generally depicted on the map
entitled the ``Edison National Historic Site'', numbered
20003B, and dated April 1977; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) all property authorized to be acquired for
inclusion in the Historical Park by this Act or other law
enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Map.--The map of the Historical Park shall be on file
and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the
National Park Service.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the
Historical Park in accordance with this Act and with the provisions of
law generally applicable to units of the National Park System,
including the Acts entitled ``An Act to establish a National Park
Service, and for other purposes,'' approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat.
535; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) and ``An Act to provide for the preservation
of historic American sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of
national significance, and for other purposes,'' approved August 21,
1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Acquisition of Property.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Real property.--The Secretary may acquire land
or interests in land within the boundaries of the Historical
Park, from willing sellers only, by donation, purchase with
donated or appropriated funds, or exchange.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Personal property.--The Secretary may acquire
personal property associated with, and appropriate for,
interpretation of the Historical Park.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may consult and
enter into cooperative agreements with interested entities and
individuals to provide for the preservation, development,
interpretation, and use of the Historical Park.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Repeal of Superseded Law.--Public Law 87-628 (76 Stat.
428), regarding the establishment and administration of the Edison
National Historic Site, is repealed.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the ``Edison
National Historic Site'' shall be deemed to be a reference to the
``Thomas Edison National Historical Park''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Act Commemorating the LITE, or
Lifetime Innovations of Thomas Edison''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to recognize and pay tribute to Thomas Alva Edison and
his innovations; and
(2) to preserve, protect, restore, and enhance the Edison
National Historic Site to ensure public use and enjoyment of
the Site as an educational, scientific, and cultural center.
SEC. 3. THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Thomas Edison National
Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System (hereafter the
``Historical Park'').
(b) Boundaries.--The Historical Park shall be comprised of all
property owned by the United States in the Edison National Historic
Site as well as all property authorized to be acquired by the Secretary
of the Interior for inclusion in the Edison National Historic Site
before the date of the enactment of this Act, as generally depicted on
the map entitled the ``Thomas Edison National Historical Park'',
numbered 403/80,000, and dated April 2008.
(c) Map.--The map of the Historical Park shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the
National Park Service.
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the Historical Park
in accordance with this Act and with the provisions of law generally
applicable to units of the National Park System, including the Acts
entitled ``An Act to establish a National Park Service, and for other
purposes,'' approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1 et
seq.) and ``An Act to provide for the preservation of historic American
sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of national significance,
and for other purposes,'' approved August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et
seq.).
(b) Acquisition of Property.--
(1) Real property.--The Secretary may acquire land or
interests in land within the boundaries of the Historical Park,
from willing sellers only, by donation, purchase with donated
or appropriated funds, or exchange.
(2) Personal property.--The Secretary may acquire personal
property associated with, and appropriate for, interpretation
of the Historical Park.
(c) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may consult and enter
into cooperative agreements with interested entities and individuals to
provide for the preservation, development, interpretation, and use of
the Historical Park.
(d) Repeal of Superseded Law.--Public Law 87-628 (76 Stat. 428),
regarding the establishment and administration of the Edison National
Historic Site, is repealed.
(e) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document,
paper, or other record of the United States to the ``Edison National
Historic Site'' shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Thomas
Edison National Historical Park''.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.
Calendar No. 820
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2627
[Report No. 110-388]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in the State of
New Jersey as the successor to the Edison National Historic Site.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 16, 2008
Reported with an amendment